'Under-pressure' Sepp Blatter admits he was close to dying

Johannesburg: FIFA's embattled president Sepp Blatter has revealed that he feared he would die when he recently got hospitalized due to stress injury.

Describing the pressure as `enormous`, Blatter said that he remained psychologically strong which is why he was able to overcome the situation, Sport24 reported.

Blatter along with his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini are serving a 90-day provisional ban handed by the FIFA's Ethics Committee over claims that the latter had received a 'disloyal payment' of 1.35 million pounds from the outgoing president in 2011.

Speaking on the matter, the 79-year-old affirmed that it was an oral agreement saying that it was even allowed in FIFA regulations.

While backing Platini, Blatter insisted that the former is an 'honest man' and that if he comes back he would surely get elected.

Platini could stand to replace Blatter as next president only if his ban ends before the election date.

Besides him, six other candidates will run in the race for 26th February election namely Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, the UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, Liberia's FA president Musa Bility, Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman, former diplomat Jerome Champagne and South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale.